by Jeramy Gates
“It’s all right, Matt.”
“You sure?”
She pressed her lips together. “I’m sure. You need to do what’s right for you in the long run. Besides, our work is done. It’s time for both of us to move on. We need to put this part of our lives behind us.”
“I’m so glad you feel that way. I can’t wait to tell Jen.”
“All right, Matt. I have to go now. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“You too, Val.”
The call ended, and Val realized that she’d driven all the way through town. She had missed the highway completely. She pulled off the road and sat there for a minute, staring at the clouds drifting over the plains, listing to the comforting rumble of the Packard’s big V12 engine.
Blackstar, she thought with a grimace. The bane of my existence…
A little dust devil appeared at the edge of the road. It drifted lazily across the asphalt, stirring up dust and leaves until a big Dodge truck came plowing through it, vaporizing it instantly. A few yards past the car, the truck slammed on its brakes. Val watched in her side mirror as the driver put it in reverse and backed up until he sat parallel with her on the road. He rolled his window down and smiled.
Perplexed, Val rolled her window down.
“Everything okay?” the man said.
She stared at him. He was good-looking, early thirties with a goatee and light, wavy hair. A lot like Carver, she thought, but younger. And no eye patch, of course.
“Your car break down?” he said, prompting her for a response. “You need some help?”
“No,” Valkyrie said. “I just had to sort some things out.”
“Ah. Well, I’m sure everything will be fine. You have a great day.”
“Thanks,” she said.
Valkyrie watched him drive away before putting the Packard back into gear and pulling onto the road. She tapped the stereo, tuned in to a local jazz station. Soft piano music accompanied by the improvised staccato rhythm of a drummer came drifting out of the speakers. The sound rose in tempo and volume as if demanding her attention. It climaxed and then softened, drifting into a delicate, swooning melody that seemed to swirl through the air around her.
The music somehow created a soundtrack for the world outside the windshield, and everything Valkyrie saw seemed in time with the playful rhythm. A shadow had lifted from the world, she thought. Or maybe it was just her. Val couldn’t be sure. She only knew that everything seemed brighter; the grass was greener and the sky a deeper blue than it had been before. She felt hopeful, as if something good was about to happen, though for the life of her she couldn’t imagine what it might be.
The stranger’s words echoed in her head as she headed for the next on-ramp: “…everything will be fine. You have a great day.”
A smile came to her lips. “Yes,” she said quietly to herself. “I think I will.”
THE END
Look for a new Valkyrie Smith novel, coming soon!
A note from the author:
Thanks for reading “Dead End.” I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my work with you. Please take a moment to leave a review at Amazon.com, and remember to look for my other titles listed below.
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Look for these other exciting titles:
He Said, She Said 'Murder' series
The Valkyrie Smith Mystery series
Erased, a thriller
The Vigilante Killer, a short story
Hank Mossberg, Private Ogre
(fantasy/detective series written as Jamie Sedgwick)
Copyright 2018 by Jeramy Gates
Artwork copyright 2018 by Jeramy Gates
Published by Timber Hill Press
ISBN: 9781729740378
All rights reserved. Any resemblance to real people, situations, or places is coincidental.
